Category: Ski Patrol

It was only lower mountain, but the Pass was open for what would be one of the earliest opening days in several years. I was on duty for patrol, and was excited to head out for the first weekend of what is anticipated to be a great season. Pulling into the parking lot, the mountain looked good. The weather wasn’t so hot in the early morning, with wet snowflakes falling, but it was supposed to get cold and snow a bunch during the day.

It was good to see the aid room full of familiar faces as everyone was gearing up for the day, and to catch up with old friends. After a quick morning meeting, we set out towards the Twilight lift to open the mountain.

The skiing in the morning was so-so, and after a few runs a couple of us told the hill chief we were going to skin up to the top to check out the snow conditions as well as the runs. So I grabbed the split and headed out from the top of Twilight, breaking trail in about a foot of fresh snow. As we worked our way to the top, the weather turned cold as predicted, and it started snowing heavily. We toured over to the top of Peak 2 to check conditions out, and found plenty of snow at the snowstake…

After checking out Peak 2, we skied over to the top of Eagle Peak before dropping in for our first lap. John snapped the below picture of me a few moments before we ripped a super sweet run down High Lead…

The snow had definitely turned the corner, and we were stoking when we ran into Dan and Joe at the bottom of High Lead. Since it was so damn nice, it was definitely worth hiking back up for another lap. On run number two we headed down Timburr and I caught the below pic of Dan enjoying the pow…

With two laps in the bag, John and I headed back down to the aid room to grab some lunch. Refueled, I headed back out for a bit more patrolling before heading back up for a bit more fun with Joe. The cool thing about being on the upper mountain with only the lower mountain open was that I could easily respond if needed to any incidents down below, but could take advantage of the untracked snow above. A short time after I started, I was up top again and hooked up with Joe for a run down Eagle’s. Joe grabbed my camera and snapped a few pics of me heading down in the blower snow…

I couldn’t believe how good the snow was, and quickly converted back to ski mode to skin back up to get one more lap before sweep. Back at the top, I chose to make a run down Success, which was probably one of my best runs of 2016. Every turn produced a huge face shot, and a whiteroom blast that seemed to last forever. What started out as a wet, heavy day had definitely turned into cold blower.

I made it back in time to help out with sweep, and the first day of the 2016 ski patrol season was in the books. After the evening meeting, it was time for a well deserved beer and BS session, and it was a pleasure to just hang out in the patrol room. Hopes were definitely high for the new season, and I can’t wait to get back out for some more great powder turns this December.

Backcountry days are beginning to feel like a distant memory as most of my ski days in January — and there have been plenty of them — have been at the Pass for either ski patrol or free riding. After an epic December and early January, the middle of the month was filled with warmer temperatures that produced wet, heavy, fat flakes. Conditions were ripe for a little sled training, and a few friends and I took advantage, running both the 100’s and the 350’s. The snow was pretty deep and sloppy, and made for some difficult conditions on the 100. I took a turn in the handles running down High Lead, and felt like I was pushing down a wave of water in front of the sled…

After a few laps, we loaded the sled on the EPA lift to take it back to the top and grab the 350, which was much better suited for the sloppy conditions…

The wet flakes were really coming down, and throughout the day it started to accumulate pretty nicely. By the afternoon, conditions were actually pretty decent.

Later in the day, I ended up having to give a couple of sled rides to patients who were injured on By George, and was happy to have pounded out a few practice laps earlier in the day.

I was also fortunate enough to get out to the Pass for a day with my son in the middle of the month, and it was unique because it was my first ever day on skis after 19 years on a board. I did pretty good, but couldn’t keep up with him….

After spinning several laps on the Twilight Chair, he decided it was time for his first trip up EPA. Thankfully, the weather was nice, the views didn’t disappoint, and Shaun was stoked at the top!

The end of the month brought a return to the snowy weather, and a few more days of ski patrol. Raleigh and I pounded out several morning laps on RTS, and I snapped a few shots along the way. The smile on his face says it all….

With February coming in a few days, I’m looking forward to more powder, a few more days at the resort, and getting back out into the backcountry for some sweet untracked turns!

Snowpocalypse is the term that comes to mind when trying to describe this December at Willamette Pass. With over 102 inches at the snow stake at Peak 2, most of which fell in a two week period, this has been one of the snowiest December’s ever at the Pass. Needless to say, there was plenty of stoke in the air amongst the patrol as we gathered in the aid room for first Patrol 2 day of the year (this was P2’s first day even though the mountain had been open for over a week).

We had our morning meeting, and soon afterwards several of us headed out for avalanche control work since the Pass was closed the day before for Christmas and had about 6 inches of fresh snow with some wind transport. Near the top of the EPA lift, the morning light was bright and I could tell it was going to be an awesome day….

After unloading, we made the short hike to the top of Peak 2, and the scenery was stunning as usual. Looking to the south, Odell Butte and Lake were glistening in the early morning sun…

Wasting little time at the top of Peak 2, we double checked gear and skied down to Dragon’s Back to do our control work. After breaking cornices along the ridge line and getting a few sloughs to go, we tied into a large tree and belayed Dan along the nose. Halfway through, I let Brian take over the belay and was able to snap a few photos of Dan as he went about his work…

Dan was able to get one decent sized slide to go, and then we broke down the rope setup, and worked our way down the rest of the ridge. Once we were all in a safe spot, we enjoyed some great turns through the meadow and back to the Peak 2 lift, with the backside in position to open for the public. I snapped a couple pictures of Brian airing it out coming out of the meadow as well as Dan making some nice pow turns…

After our morning work, it was time to enjoy the quality snow and we made several runs on the backside, finding powder on Northern, June’s and in the trees. Around 10:30, I made my way back to the front side for a few runs, and found some good snow in White Russian with Raleigh…

My bump spot was at 1:00, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat around 12:45 and headed back up EPA. Walking out of the patrol room, I snapped a picture of the hill, looking in mid-winter form in December….

Bump was uneventful, and once my hour was up, I headed out to make a few more runs until sweep. Looking off to the south, I pulled out my telephoto lens and snapped a few pictures of Diamond, dreaming of making runs on the mountains north side this coming spring…

Peak 2 sweep started at 3:40 pm, and then upper mountain sweep followed. I waited up top with Dan, and after a brief issue with a missing person that was subsequently found, we vacated via RTS.

A bit later, back in the patrol room, we had our evening meeting and then cracked a few beers to celebrate an excellent start to the season. Hopefully there will be many more pow days to come! Here’s a parting shot of Brian from the day….

Better late than never, winter, or some semblance of it, arrived to the Oregon Cascades (outside of Mt Bachelor) at the very end of December.  With it’s arrival came the long awaited opening of the Willamette Pass Ski area and the first day of Patrol.  Although operations were limited to only the lower mountain due to the sparse snowpack, the stoke factor was high as fellow patrollers gathered in the aide room for the morning meeting.  After some quick chat, we headed out towards the Twighlight lift to get ready for the first lift serviced turns of the season at the Pass.

The weather was sunny and beautiful, and the lower mountain was in pretty good shape due to the efforts of the Pass to make snow during the colder weather a few days earlier.  The first order of business was to head down George and get tower pads on the Midway and EPA lifts.  Dragging a fatty tower pad behind me while boarding felt like dragging a deployed parachute.

By about 9:45 the work was done, and it was time to make a few turns.  Dan and I checked out the snow conditions on Timburr Glades, and the snow was sugary soft in the shade, so we decided to venture out a little further on the next run, which required about a 10 minute hike…

To our surprise, when we reached High Lead Glades, the run was fresh and pristine with no tracks, so we dropped in for some soft, smooth pow turns….

The snow was good enough that we came back for another run.  I’d found a few fun little bumps and jumps on the previous run that Dan thought would make a good picture, so he grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos as I rode by…..

Dan and Joe decided to head out to Pulpit after helping out with opening, so I bid them farewell and continued patrolling since it was a duty day for me (not for them).  I made a few more runs on the soft fresh snow blanketing George before heading in for lunch.  The Social Committee had excellent sandwiches and chili for lunch, so fortunately nobody went hungry.

After lunch it was back to more patrolling, with the occasional stop for a photo, etc.  I brought the camera out at one point during the afternoon and snapped a couple of photos with my telephoto zoom lens.  The below pictures of Shannon and Diamond Peak were a couple I thought turned out ok…..

We had a couple of events during the day, with one backboard incident, but other than that it was a great opening day and I had more fun on the lower mountain than I have in a long time.  The evening meeting after sweep was quick, and everyone enjoyed a cold beer and catching up after being away from the patrol family since last year.  The first day back always makes me realize how much I like patrolling at the Pass.  Sadly, the weather forecast for the coming weeks looks uncooperative, and what little snow there is at the Pass is melting.  Hopefully we’ll get a return to winter soon, and be back out on the slopes of the entire mountain enjoying the fresh pow.

Below is a parting shot of Craig and Raleigh, father and son on my patrol, Patrol 2.  Craig was skiing awesome for just having double hip replacements only three months prior!

 

Beautiful sunny days have been the norm this March in the Oregon Cascades, and the past two weekends at Willamette Pass were no exception. Even though the snowpack is dwindling, it’s been nice to get out for some fresh air, Vitamin D and corn turns. I was on patrol on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 23rd, and both days were nearly identical, with blue skies, hardpack in the morning, followed by fun soft turns in the afternoon.

After our morning meeting on Saturday, I was anxious to get out and help open the mountain, and to try out my new toy – a Canon EF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 L lens I’d picked up the week prior.  Being a telephoto zoom, it allows much more reach than my other two Canon lenses. Stepping off the EPA lift, my first subject was Diamond Peak basking in the morning sunlight…..

After the mountain was open, I headed over to RTS with Raleigh to check things out, which turned out to be a poor decision. The run had been skied late in the day on Friday, and was a frozen mass of large blocks of snow from pin wheels and ski tracks. At least the lower half was decent. Catching the lift back to the top, I snapped a few pics of several patrollers ahead of us…..

At the top, I took a few more minutes to play with the camera, and snapped a few photos looking south towards Lakeview Peak and Cowhorn Mountain, definitely enjoying the new zoom capability of the 70-300mm. Though I haven’t made turns on either of these peaks, they’re definitely on the list…

A few moments later, several birds landed on the pavers at the top of the EPA terminal and decided to hang out with me for a bit. There were probably seven or eight of them, all brightly colored, and they seemed to be feeding on something in the cracks of the pavers.

Around 11:30, I headed in for lunch, making a run down Eagle’s Flight, which was just starting to corn. Lunch consisted of a pulled pork sandwich, fresh off the grill at the patrol shack. After enjoying my food in the sun, I headed back out for what would be some of the best corn skiing of the year. Arriving at the top of the EPA, I found Peter on bump, lounging in the sled with Diamond Peak as a backdrop….

By early afternoon, Success was perfect corn, bump free and in really good shape. I made several runs with Raleigh and Brian, pulling out the camera to snap some photos. As suspected, my new lens made it easy to zoom in tight enough to get some really good action shots. In between shooting Raleigh and Brian, I snapped a couple pics of Jack and Sam on the lift above us as well…..

On one of the lift rides back to the top of Eagle Peak, we looked up and spotted 5 bald eagles soaring above. It’s not unusual to see one, maybe two eagles near the top of the Pass in the spring, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen 5 at once. These birds are awesome to watch, and so beautiful and majestic. I tried to get a pic of all 5 in one frame, but was unsuccessful in doing so. I did manage to get a couple though….

The remainder of the day was spent running laps on the frontside until Peak 2 sweep at 3:30. The evening meeting went quickly, and I was enjoying an Oakshire Expresso Stout in the patrol room to end the day at 4:45.

The following Sunday (the 23rd) was nearly a repeat of the previous Saturday, except for a couple of things. RTS was scary icy – I opened it to start the day and it was puckering. I’m pretty sure it didn’t get skied the rest of the day until sweep. And, there weren’t any eagles at the Pass like the weekend before. The other difference was that By George was nearly unskiable at the bottom, with only a swath on skier’s left that was a few feet wide. Like the previous weekend though, the snow in the afternoon was as good as it had been all season, and I think it may have been my best corn day of the year. The backside had superb coverage, but I especially enjoyed skiing High Lead and Timburr, which reminded me of spring corn skiing on the volcanoes below treeline until the snow runs out. Even though the coverage was minimal, especially on Timburr, I think that’s part of what makes it so fun.

After another great day at the Pass, I stayed on top at EPA for sweep since I had the last bump, and enjoyed gazing out towards all the snow covered peaks to the south, thinking about the spring touring season to come. Though the Pass will be open one more weekend, this would be my last duty day of the season. If it looks good however, I think I’ll try to get up one last time before we’re closed for the year to enjoy some of the best lift served scenery in the state! Here’s a parting shot of Raleigh on Success…